Eyes on the Street: Side Effect of the 405 Widening, Better Bike Lanes on the Westside

We’ve spent a lot of blog space questioning the value of the mammoth I-405 Widening Project, but the project has brought some good news to cyclists on the Westside. Via twitter, Rach Stevenson announced[3] that the southbound bike lane on Ohio Boulevard by the V.A.’s office has been restriped and moved out of the gutter. Before this welcome change, Biking In L.A.[4] referred to this bike lane as “the worst bike lane on the Westside.”

The reason we haven’t heard of this project from LADOT before, is that it’s not their project. Caltrans and Metro are completing I-405 widening project, and must take care of any local street changes needed to accommodate the widening. The plans, including the bike lane change on Ohio Ave. Essentially, wherever the I-405 changes impact a roadway, they’re responsible for that street as well. In some cases this means adding bike lanes in addition to whatever reconfiguration or construction is called for. This will mostly effect Sepulveda Drive, where parts of the I-405 expansion will overtake some of the Sepulveda ROW. Because these are city controlled streets, LADOT Geometrics had to approve the plans, but they were not in charge of the project.

When new bike lanes come to Sepulveda Boulevard, Streetsblog will be there to ride them and give a full report.